Tag: Positive Thinking

Finding the Magic In Life

What does it take to be inspired today, when stress is all around us due to the economy, environment, war and more? To me, it is about being truly grateful on a daily basis and, sometimes a minute-by-minute basis, on those days when you feel you just can't take one more step. Everywhere we turn, there is continued devastation. Every minute, there is a child raped, a person murdered, a rainforest dying, an iceberg melting. But what if we looked at everything, good, bad, or indifferent, and saw the magic? What if we saw things from a different perspective and…

Read more
Alayjiah Bargnare

Know Your Worth With Optimistic Gratitude

Start each morning off by being grateful for waking up. Say "thank you" for all the stuff you currently have and expect to receive in the future. Focus on all the things you love and how they make you feel. Watch what you think and say because they become your reality. I am a survivor of a few of life's most horrible crimes and I was very bitter and angry for a long time. I had constant negative thoughts and fears that plagued my success. I did not realize God had spared my life through all those situations so I…

Read more
- With trust, a positive attitude, and persistence, you will reach a destination that is right for you.
Share
- Surround yourself with people who smile, and back away from negativity.
Share

Finding the Upside When Life Takes a Downside

What do you think of when you hear the word upside? Simply speaking, it is something positive that follows a downside. It is the promise or potential of a given situation. It's finding some clarity in the midst of chaos. Once the dust settles in your life, there is a little light or glimmer of hope that appears. But you have to be willing to reach out and grab the opportunity, nurture it and turn it into something meaningful. For example, I had a downside experience - a severe stress fracture in my leg, which laid me up for many…

Read more

Patience – A Practice for Success

As a survivor of a Traumatic Brain Injury, I experienced a rebirth in my life. As someone who had to re-learn how to successfully work and share with people in every aspect of life, there is one practice that applies everywhere. That practice is patience. Patience is fed with the ability to listen, stay centered and be thoughtful. Trust in those things and there will be patience. Patience proves that the old phrase endures: Good things come to those who wait. What are you waiting for? To get better from an illness? For a loved one to recover from a…

Read more

You Always End Up Where You Are Supposed To Be!

Nearly everyone ends up in a situation that was not what they expected or wanted it to be.  For example, you may find your soul mate and discover that they lack the maturity necessary for your relationship to grow and blossom. Another example may be finding the perfect job and discovering within the first month or two that the environment is toxic, and your supervisor or manager is determined to destroy you or have you fired. Things like this happen all the time. Instead of beating yourself up, feeling like a caged animal and letting your fear take over, stop…

Read more

Why Being Grateful is Just as Important as Breathing

Being grateful is just as important as breathing. Every human alive right now is breathing, but the act of breathing alone does not make for a happy, fulfilled person. It’s unfortunate how many people allow for their fear-ridden thoughts to control their lives and reality, when really ALL of us have the power to take back our mind and direct our energy in a positive way that serves our life and those around us. Gratitude is a major step in unwinding our negative mental habits. If a person lives their entire life not realizing how precious, miraculous and unique this life…

Read more

Blessed With a Hard Life

In Zaatari camp, a young Syrian boy with a love for soccer invited me into his home to show off his extensive collection of soccer medals. He so valued them that he packed them into a small pack slung on his shoulder during his journey fleeing the violence of his Syrian home, by foot, seeking refuge and safety in the desert. As I was leaving, he motioned for me to bend down, slipping one of his gold medals around my neck. I didn’t understand the Arabic words he whispered, but the power, love, and impact I felt in that exchange…

Read more

What You See is What Will Be

There was a time back, long ago, when knowing each other’s deficits was important. In fact it was critical to our survival. But today we live in a time when our environment can literally make up for any of our shortcomings. We have evolved past the need to link deficiencies with survival. Unfortunately, our instincts have not. Despite overwhelming evidence—the blind man with incredible hearing, the deaf woman highly attuned to body language, the dyslexic student with powerful memorization—society is too accustomed to seeing the world in terms of deficits and exceptions. And so are we. In trying to improve,…

Read more

My Gratitude List

Every morning I sit outside on my high-floor terrace in South Florida, sip my coffee, and read an uplifting pamphlet or two. Then I write out my day’s schedule. Too often, despite the uplifting material, I start worrying about this client or that deadline or the seemingly endless list of tasks on the schedule. And my quiet time erodes into anxiety. The activity that’s supposed to help me ease into the day with a positive outlook has the opposite effect. Instead of returning to my home office refreshed and ready to work, I’m drained and irritable. As I kept noticing…

Read more

Is Worry Holding You Down?

My husband and I love the Baja Peninsula, visiting it frequently over the past few years. On September 14, 2014, Hurricane Odile hit. With no phone or internet service it was days or, in one case, a week before we heard from our friends who live there. Without communication, I became obsessed with any reports I could get from the area. I looked at photos of damage. I worried about the lack of food, water, and electricity. I concerned over my friends safety as desperation looting began. That week I was also hit with a massive cold. You see, worry…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

Can I Choose to Stay Positive?

"I have been having a difficult time lately with staying positive. It seems as if there is so much going on that it's difficult to try and stay positive. I used to be happier... How can I get through the day being positive?" ~ Julie Hi Julie, Thanks for your question, I get this one a lot and I want you to know that even “Mr. Positive” isn't able to “Stay Positive” all the time! Even though your life is very busy here are three things you can do in ten minutes or less to immediately to shift your attitude when you are not feeling…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Stay Positive?

"I'm dealing with difficulty in my life right now that is affecting my health. I'm normally such a positive person. This situation is really taking its toll on me and I just don't know how to stay positive anymore. What can I do?" ~ Sally, Green Bay, Wisconsin Dear Sally, The best thing for staying positive is to remember that what we focus on expands, so here are a few great tips. Music is amazing for raising our vibration, our mood even when we don’t feel well or positive. Force a smile on your face, it will immediately change the physiology…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Help My Struggling Friend?

"I have a friend struggling with grief, health and emotional issues. She is extremely negative, sarcastic and angry in all aspects of her life. She has no other friends and thanks me for being a positive example in her life. Very slowly, she is trying to change to more positive thoughts and actions. Problem is I am getting drained being her only friend in life. Her complaining is constant and she needs me so much of the time..I have a husband and other friends and I love to journal and read. I don't seem to have time for much anything…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

Does Negative News Affect Me?

"I am so upset with all the news and violence today. I wonder if watching it created more of it? If we all watch the news and the sadness, are we in fact creating it? Is that why so many young people are killing others? They are saddened and feel no one cares and see the news of others killing themselves, so they think they should? Is media creating more sadness and violence...? Again, should I turn off my TV and not watch it, or is that a coward's way out? I fear that all the people watching the tragedies…

Read more

New Year’s Eve, Drop All That No Longer Serves Behind You

Before midnight on New Year's Eve, take some time to reflect upon on your past. This past year and as far as you can remember. Refrain from going into story about the past or reliving old memories,  just reflect. And everything that you don’t want to drag into 2014 with you, drop it. Drop it like the ball that falls in Times Square each year. Drop it like a hot potato and let it go once and for all. Leave the past in the past so that you can move into 2014 with clear unencumbered focus. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve…

Read more
Ask a Luminary

How Can I Let Go of Negative Thoughts?

"I am sad about my marriage of 40 years being over. I have tried so hard to save it but we are just on different vibrations. What do I do with my negative thoughts when they come up??" ~ Kathy Rose, Los Angeles, CA Firstly, Kathy, I would ask that you be loving and kind to yourself. Coming to this realization is not an easy one and I am sure it is not a decision you have taken lightly. Forgiveness of yourself and of your spouse is helpful. Knowing that you have tried and you are both taking the best…

Read more

How to Go About Challenging Yourself

A challenge isn't easy, it isn't meant to be. That is why terms like 'get outside your comfort zone’ and ‘break out of the box we put ourselves in' are bandied about a lot. We know how good we feel when we reach a goal and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. Often the more difficult the challenge or even the more attempts we have made at it, the greater the sense of achievement during, and afterwards, especially when we have tried our best. Challenging yourself can be extremely motivational. Below are some tips to help you challenge…

Read more